Lok Sabha elections 2019: Will BJP be able to retain Indore for the ninth time?

INDORE: Despite winning Indore

Lok Sabha

seat eight times in a row, BJP is forced to think whether it would be a cake-walk for its veteran leader and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, this time around. The Lok Sabha elections coming in the backdrop of November 2018 assembly elections that unseated the 15-year-old BJP government and Copngress pitching in to field some senior leaders from Indore seems to make the BJP jittery.


The Indore seat has been successfully represented by Mahajan in the past but the party has not yet finalised her candidature.

Indore will set the tone for Malwa-Nimar region, as in 2018-assembly polls Congress managed to form the government with the backing of 35 out of total 66 assembly seats it won from the region. Therefore, choosing a winning candidate will be priority of BJP and Congress.

If the assembly elections are any indication, in Indore Lok Sabha seat, Congress and BJP are evenly poised holding four assembly seats each. BJP, however has an edge with a margin of 95,130 votes, with major contribution coming in from Kailash Vijayvargiya’s close aide Ramesh Mendola who won by a margin of 71,011 votes from Indore-II constituency.

Mahajan, who has won last eight

general

elections from Indore, had registered a victory by a margin 4.66 lakh votes against her nearest rival

Satyanarayan Patel

of Congress in 2014. At the age of 76, she is still a strong contender for ticket, but this time however, some senior leaders from her own party are demanding a change.

“Ticket distribution is decided by the party parliamentary board. Party leaders and workers are united and our candidate is out party symbol— lotus” said party city president Gopikrishna Nema, adding, that if local functionaries are asked about the probable candidates, then Mahajan, Vijayvargiya, mayor and Indore-IV MLA Malini Gaud and senior party leader Satyanarayan Sattan’s name will figure. Among these leaders, Sattan has publicly announced to contest as an independent candidate, if BJP fields Sumitra Mahajan.

“We have an edge of about 1 lakh votes more over Congress in the eight assembly constituencies of Indore. But, we will not leave any stone unturned to increase our lead in the upcoming polls” said Nema, who is also a probable candidate.

Nema added that Malawa-Nimar region including Indore will vote in the last phase and changing in equation, voting pattern and feedbacks from across the country can play an extremely vital role in deciding the fate of the candidate.

Congress is, however, confident after forming the government in the state, but its biggest problem is finding a ‘suitable’ candidate for the prestigious seat. Amidst claims of local leaders, names of film stars along with state leaders are also doing the rounds.

“Lok Sabha polls is different than the assembly polls where the people of MP has entrusted the state with Congress. Indore is a business hub in Central India and traders, who have suffered the most due to GST, demonetisation and other ‘bad’ policies of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, will help us in winning the polls” the party city chief Vinay Bakliwal said.

Bakliwal added that local leaders including Pankaj Sanghvi, Archana Jaiswal, Dr Poonam Mathur, Swapnil Kothari and Gopal Yadav (for his wife) have made their claims for the seat. Besides, some senior leaders are also eyeing the seat, he said.